Stefan Grand Prix still wants 2010 slot

Stefan Grand Prix, the 2010 F1 entry run by Zoran Stefanovic, says it still hopes to be on the Formula 1 grid next year despite failing to be granted a place by the FIA.

Stefanovic, who complained to the EU about the FIA’s insistence that the new teams for 2010 use Cosworth engines, says his company are, “acting like they are already in for the 2010 championship.”

He added: “don?óÔé¼Ôäót forget, people tried to convince the Wright brothers that they would never fly.”

Will Stefan Grand Prix get off the ground in 2010? It seems doubtful at this late stage, and their press release hasn’t got quite the air of professionalism you expect from an F1 team.

But no-one really expected Manor Motorsport to get a place for 2010, so who knows? If the rumours about Toyota pulling the plug on their F1 team are true, maybe the FIA will go looking for another new entry.

Press release

We are alive and ready

Talking with Mr. Zoran D. Stefanovic from Stefan Grand Prix, in light of new information about FIA 2010 Formula 1 World Championship, regarding some remarks from Mr. Ecclestone?óÔé¼Ôäós interview to BBC in which he points that ?óÔé¼?ôone or two team?óÔé¼Ôäós will not make it to Bahrain next year?óÔé¼?Ø.

Head of Stefan Grand Prix Mr. Zoran D. Stefanovic wanted to share his thoughts about this matter, because everybody from SGP strongly believe that what SGP has to offer to F1 can be very interesting from every angle.

Nobody from SGP including myself, will just try to convince anybody why should we have to be in F1 next year, but we would like everybody to know that we are not just ready, but we also did a lot of work in last couple of months. We will try to share our thoughts and apply to logics and common sense of everybody who want to know for example how did we raised money for next year already, in other words how did we found title sponsorship without even being accepted from FIA for the 2010 Championship.

When you have all the pieces of the puzzle right: when you have one of the biggest shows on the face of the earth – the F1 brand – which is in my opinion organized almost perfectly, and when you come from an extremely interesting part of the world like Central – Eastern Europe, you have something fresh, something new, something worth looking at. And that is the essence of our effort. The idea of F1 car from Serbia makes everybody start thinking very fast. You must agree that what we have is something never seen before, something far more interesting than you usually expect, something very unique.

Therefore, almost over-night, you find yourself in the spotlight of the right eyes. Soon enough sponsors will recognize your position and they will follow you, like they did. We are in an area populated with over 400 million people, including Russia that is a brotherly nation with Serbia, so we have 800 millions eyes focused on something that was unimaginable for this area just a year ago.

This is the main reason why we have raised funds, why we have continued work on our car, and why we have our mind set to work as we are looking to be in Bahrain next year, because we think we will have two cars there.

Don?óÔé¼Ôäót forget, people tried to convince the Wright brothers that they would never fly, said Mr. Stefanovic.

What F1 must understand is that they will have the unique new team and will conquer, geographically, a very important part of the world. But if you ask who will really profiting, proper answer is – the fans, Mr. Stefanovic said.

He also continue, ?óÔé¼?£The everyday normal, smart man from all Central – Eastern Europe, from Russia, is just waiting for a strong emotional connection with something, and we think that our F1 project is exactly what they have been looking and waiting for. We want to develop SGP into a strong recognizable F1 brand and we are determined to do so. Don?óÔé¼Ôäót forget, we have 400 million reasons to do it.

In the end, Mr. Stefanovic says that they will keep pushing, that SGP will make their car, and that they are acting like they are already in for the 2010 championship, and he finishes with words:

Success is very predictable. You need to know what is the nature of your business, and you need to sell your product. We have unique product, which we already sold, so it is predictable that we expect to be in F1.

The company has now issued a press release in the name of Stefan Grand Prix which claims that it had all the ingredients required by the FIA and “secured the services” of Mike Coughlan as chief designer and several other experienced staff.

Apart from Coughlan, there’s also the small problem that the ex-BMW Qadbak team is on the waiting list already, and if Toyota pulls out FIA will likely just stop its effort to get a 14th spot, and just approve Qadbak directly.

You’d need Renault to pull out too, at which point I’d rather Prodrive get the last spot than Stefan…

Oh my god, they are still using that phrase: ”us and Russians – 400 milion”. They have been using it since the number was 300 milions. They need a reality check – and should start from junior series to learn their ropes if they are serious about racing…

Zoran, I’d have corrected the mistakes in your press release if you paid me a fiver for it. But I don’t understand the logic of all you sceptics out there. I for one not only think they’ll make it onto the grid next season, but also win both championships. And in 2011 they’ll sign Fernando Alonso.

(I was going to make a joke about founding Flanders F1 and running it out of my own garage, but I see Tols has beat me to it…)

Don’t you think you are a bit harsh on Manor GP here? No one expected them to get the entry because no one new about it, that’s all. John Booth said this was because “If you talk about it and then you don’t get accepted, you look a bit like an idiot” (which describes Lola’s and Prodrive’s situation pretty well).

Okay, let’s be totally serious for a minute here and assume Zoran Stefanovic can actually make a team, depsite not having a grid position. He still won’t be allowed to race:

– Special circumstances were granted to BMW. The terms of those circumstances are that they will be granted a place on the grid, provided that all nine of the current remaining teams agree to it. In the event that someone withdraws, the position will default to BMW. No other special circumstances will be made.

– Stefanovic tried to force his way onto the grid at the expense of another team by complaining to the EC in the hopes of getting the selection process re-done on the ground that the FIA was forcing teams to use the Cosworth engine against their will. This hardly endeared him to the entire Formula One community. FOTA in particular probably wouldn’t give him much in the way of technical advice and support.

– Furthermore, he accused the FIA of being biased against teams that could be constructors, like Prodrive and his Stefan Grand Prix outfit. Again, he’s hardly currying favour with the Powers That Be, as if the EC complaint wasn’t enough to put them off him.

– No driver in their right mind is going to sign on to join a team tat doesn’t have a racing licence. When Phoenx Finance rocked up to Sepang in 2002, they came armed with two ex-Minardi drivers, both of whom would probably drive a wheelie bin if it were offered. Stefnovic might get Nelson Piquet Jnr., but only if he’s utterly desperate.

But they do have a website – http://stefanf1.com/ – so Stefan GP is to be taken utterly seriously. Never mind that it’s written in the mighty Times New Roman font …

good point xanathos… all of you guys are “outside” with no valid info from “within”… so what if his english sucks?
USF1 has NOTHING!!! and they speak perfect English:)
look things this way: USF1 will not race-NO WAY-, Campos have problems, Toyota probably out, Reno maybe too.
This guy is persistent type, and this is good for sport

In fact, I haven’t heard any direct rumours of USF1 being in trouble. All I get it people talking abut the rumours. And if they have nothing, they wouldn’t be in the process of employing people would they? I know this because I’m talking with them; there’s still a few things that needed to be sorted out, but all the same.

This guy is persistent type, and this is good for sport

Actually, he’s the worst possible type. He doesn’t care for the racing, he just wans to be seen to be doing it. To Stefanovic, it’s all about marketing and image; the race doesn’t come into it. Besides, he’s trodden on a lot of toes to get this far, so he’ll never make it.

Success is very predictable. You need to know what is the nature of your business, and you need to sell your product. We have unique product, which we already sold, so it is predictable that we expect to be in F1.

i hope zoran will get it.
everyone knows usf1 is finished, and that they don’t have a thing. campos is a so-so, manor sold part of the team to R.brunson so they will be on the grid.
i agree with you brian, and nobody knows this man, jet he is bad, let’s hate him…

the guy was a prosecutor, and a good one too.
amco has strong lawyers so i think they will fight throe this.

i hope zoran will get it.
everyone knows usf1 is finished, and that they don’t have a thing. campos is a so-so, manor sold part of the team to R.brunson so they will be on the grid.
i agree with you brian, good point, and nobody knows this man, jet he is bad, let’s hate him…

the guy was a prosecutor, and a good one too.
amco has strong lawyers so i think they will fight throe this.

I think that what you did not realize is that Stefanovic is not British and it is therefore understandable that he makes mistakes when speaking English. Either way, his knowledge of the language doesn’t have anything to do with racing. Secondly, you would be very surprised to find out that Serbia – Russia friendship is not what western countries consider it to be. It is more fictional and media created than real. Many western Europeans and Americans tend to think of Serbs and Russians as more or less the same. Which is not true, it’s what they hear on television. Stefanovic is talking about Russians just to pesuade FIA that they will have greater numer of viewers worldwide, and that’s all

“A question for you…how many foreign languages are you speaking? …None? Well no sweets for you then…Does it have anything to do with racing?” I’ll pretend that I understand your comment and answer. Yes I am speaking a couple of foreign languages including Serbian, Greek, and Spanish. But again, I see no connection whatsoever between that and F1. (I see that you’ve removed your comment now, I’ve read it on Yahoo mail)